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A.I.S.E., together with its member the UK Cleaning Products Industry Association (UKCPI), has outlined its concerns about the impact of Brexit negotiations on business certainty for the EU 27 and the UK. A joint letter has been sent to Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, covering the importance of the detergents industry for the EU economy, and specifically the need to:

Safe-guard companies’ license to operate

Maintain business certainty for the future

Maintain unimpeded trade flow between the UK and the EU

We support an approach that avoids negative consequences on employment and growth in the UK and in the EU-27. Regardless of what models will ultimately be adopted, our associations would like to stress that:

Any change that will affect the speed or cost of moving goods or people between the UK and the EU will have a deleterious effect for business and prosperity, on both sides of the channel;

Any changes that will lead to a different regulatory framework between the UK and the EU will add complexity in monitoring and implementing new regulations. A regulatory divergence or the inability for the UK to access regulatory resource from the appropriate EU agencies will delay the harmonised implementation of measures that aim to protect consumers’ safety and the environment.

Trade flows of detergents and maintenance products (2016)

€490 million: from EU-27 > UK

€700 million: from UK > EU-27

A.I.S.E. and UKCPI call on both parties to:

avoid setting tariff barriers and customs hurdles

preserve the consistency for labelling and marketing access across the English speaking European market

ensure that businesses and public services have the right customs capacities in place

avoid regulatory duplication.

The industry welcomes the transition period to 2020, but requires clarity about what will happen after that date on a series of issues highlighted.